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Insurers selling health policies in the small group and individual market including on exchanges must provide a pediatric dental component. But the extent to which orthodontic services will be covered depends on whether a service is classified as cosmetic or medically necessary, says NADP Executive Director Evelyn Ireland, meaning only about 30% of current orthodontic procedures would be covered under essential health benefits packages. Some plans will add broader orthodontics coverage as a voluntary option, but all of the changes could result in employer cost shifting to employees, Ireland said. Too much cost shifting would likely result in adults dropping dental coverage and in poorer oral health outcomes for adults.

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Sleep apnea devices, snore guards, and some components and materials contained in dental instruments and restorations will be subject to a 2.3% tax under the Affordable Care Act, effective next month. Devices and products made at domestic dental labs and not required to be registered with the FDA are not subject to the tax. Manufacturers and importers may add the cost of the tax to their products.

Patients with artificial joints might not need prophylactic antibiotics for routine dental procedures because the procedures have not been linked to infection in artificial joints, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and American Dental Association said.

Dental procedures that require general anesthesia cost an average of about $5,000 less if performed in a dental office than when performed in a hospital, according to a study published in Anesthesia Progress. Average anesthesia and recovery times are shorter in an office than in a hospital, the study found.

Millions of children stand to gain dental benefits under the Affordable Care Act, though state and federal regulators are still working out details, and loopholes will enable some parents to skirt the provision. HHS has not said whether penalties will be levied against parents who fail to obtain dental coverage for their children. HHS might leave the decision up to the states, says NADP Executive Director Evelyn Ireland, and according to NADP the cost of the expanded coverage for children and fees imposed on insurers could make coverage unaffordable for many families, forcing parents to drop their own coverage to pay for their children's.